Appendicitis
by SpoOkYjAgfaN
Summary: Kate has a bad case of menstrual cramps, or does she!
1. Not so menstrual

"Morning Kate!" Tony smiled as Kate rounded the corner to her desk. He was a little surprised that she didn't retort with sarcasm, but blamed it on a bad mood.

"Good morning Tony." Kate was definitely not her normal self that morning. She had woken up with a horrible case of cramps, which were so severe, she was having trouble putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally, Kate was in a position to collapse into her chair, but mindful of Tony's eagle-eyes, she sat down quite gracefully. Tony was going to ask her if there was any particular reason why she was in a bad mood, but Gibbs walked past them and ordered everyone to finish their overdue paperwork by the end of the day, so he decided to leave the matter alone.

* * *

"That's it! If I open one more file, I'm going to go insane. Lunch break Kate?" Tony was surprised Kate didn't answer. On any other day, she would have jumped at the chance to stop doing paperwork. He tried again. 

"Hey Kate, you want lunch?" _What was she staring at?_ He noticed she wasn't moving, but just staring at a stack of papers in front of her. That worried him, so he got up and made his way to her desk.

"Kate?"

Suddenly realizing someone was talking to her, Kate looked up into Tony's eyes.

"Yeah Tony?" Talking and breathing were becoming difficult for her. She forced herself to steady her breaths in an ongoing effort to lessen the pain.

"Do you want some lunch?"

Kate weighed the options. If she got up, she didn't think she would make it all the way back to the parking garage, but on the plus side Food might help.

"Okay." Slowly she stood only grimacing a little, forcing herself to stand up straight.

"Are you alright Kate?" Tony knew Kate would rather shoot him in the head, than tell him something was wrong, so he was trying not to be pushy, but was also becoming increasingly worried.

"Yeah…"

* * *

By the time the double doors opened revealing the parking garage, Kate was seeing double. As she moved to step out of the elevator, the pain overwhelmed her, and her legs buckled. Crying out, she reached for Tony-who was shocked-but caught her and easily lifted her into his arms. By that point, Kate didn't care if Tony saw her cry; she just wanted the pain to go away. 

Tony was scared to death when he saw Kate collapse. He was even more shocked when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shirt.

"Talk to me Kate." He still didn't have any clue why he was standing in the elevator with a now shaking Kate in his arms.

"It hurts Tony." She cried. The pain was so intense she was becoming light-headed.

"Show me." On any ordinary day, this would have had a double meaning for Tony, but right then, the thought hadn't crossed either of their minds.

Kate removed one of her arms from around his neck and placed it on her abdomen, solving the mystery for Tony, who knew more about her problem than she did. Without another word, he pushed a button, closing the doors.

* * *

"Ducky!" Tony rushed into the morgue, demanding the older man's attention. 

"Dear heavens." Ducky rushed over to them, and felt Kate's head. "She's burning up." He noticed that she was also gripping her stomach, and laid a hand on top of hers. Without warning, he pushed down, causing her to cry out and tighten her grip on Tony. "Breathe Caitlin. You need to steady your breathing." He laid a hand on her forehead and looked up at Tony. "Let's get her in the van."

"Van?" Kate's question was muffled by Tony's shirt.

"Yes Kate. I'm afraid your appendix may need to be removed." Ducky patted her shoulder.

She groaned in reply.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was a quiet one. Kate sat in the middle, resting her head on the arm Tony had wrapped around her. She hated hospitals, and was dreading being under the care of a civilian doctor. As soon as the van pulled up in front of Georgetown, Tony eased Kate out, and into a wheelchair. A nurse met them inside, and wheeled her off to surgery.

* * *

"What is taking them so long Duck?" It had been an hour and a half since their arrival at the hospital, and after making a call to a very annoyed Gibbs, Tony and Ducky were left to sit and wait. 

"Excuse me." Ducky was saved from Tony's impatience by a short nurse with curly blonde hair. "Are you both with Ms. Todd?"

"Yes." They stood up, suddenly towering over the young woman. Tony's mind raced over a million questions, and finally settled on the simplest. "How is she?"

"She's going to be just fine. Normally, removing an appendix is considered minimally-invasive, but apparently this was a problem for quite a while, and the appendix ruptured before Doctors could remove it." She smiled at Tony's worried expression. "It's alright, all this means, it she will need to rest a little longer. She'll be on her feet in two to three weeks."

"Can we see her?" This time, Ducky had to speak for Tony.

"Of course. She'll be out for another hour or so, but when she wakes up, she's free to go-with the promise that she'll stay in bed with absolutely no walking or lifting for 36-48 hours."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Ducky was well aware of the risks of taking someone home so soon after emergency surgery.

"It's not common that we release patients right away, but we are overcrowded, and as long as she gets rest, there should be no problems down the road." Without giving Ducky another chance to protest, but she spun around and walked off calling out Kate's room number over her shoulder.

"I hate civilian hospitals." Ducky complained all the way to Kate's room. "There is no regard for patient safety, all they care about is funding, and patient care suffers."

Tony had tuned out the old doctor's ramblings even before they started. All he wanted to do was see Kate's face, to see for himself that she was okay. As Kate once said, they were NCIS agents, and there was a chance one of them might get shot every time they walked through the door. Tony was prepared for that reality. He was not prepared for Kate to collapse in the elevator with appendicitis. It had nothing to do with terrorists, or sailors, it was something none of them could control, and that scared the hell out of him.

When he finally reached the door marked 306-the number he heard the nurse shout over her shoulder-he pushed the door slowly open. Weary of what Kate might look like, he prepared himself for the worst, but that didn't help. As he neared her bed, he was surprised at how small and frail she looked. Her skin was pale, and she was being aided with an oxygen mask.

Tony was unsure of what to do next. He didn't even know what to think. If she had gotten shot, or hurt while investigating a scene, he would have felt guilty for not protecting her like he was supposed to. If she had been attacked, he would have felt sorry for her, and ready to kick some ass, but there was no ass to be kicked. It was already in a bright red bag, or maybe an incinerator, with the insides of all the other surgical patients. He felt so helpless.


	2. Tired, but fine

"Tony?" It had been around two hours since Tony was allowed in Kate's room. Since that time, there had been a flurry of motion around the pair, but Tony didn't pay any attention to any of it. McGee had driven Tony's car to the hospital using the set of extra keys in Gibbs' drawer, and left again with Ducky in the ME van. They left instructions to call, and offered words of encouragement, but they fell on deaf ears. He never said a word to either of them, his eyes stayed focused on Kate, while his mind wondered over the events of the morning. The only sound that could break his reverie was the soft, gentle voice of Kate. 

"Kate!" Tony's gaze shifted from her hand that he held in his own to her beautiful, _open_ eyes. She was smiling lightly, and looked worn out, but to Tony, she was prettier than ever. "How do you feel?"

She looked confused, pondering such a simple question. Then finally she looked back at him. "Fine, actually. Tired, but fine." Tony couldn't help but smile. She was going to be fine, she said it herself.

"I see you're awake, Ms. Todd." They turned around to see a tall balding doctor walking towards them. "My name is Dr. Harold. I was the chief surgeon during your operation. As you probably already know from your friend here, your appendix was removed successfully, and after a quick post-op examination, you're free to go home." Seeing the surprised look on Kate's face, he added, "With a few stipulations of course!" The Doctor then turned his attention to Tony. "Will you excuse us for a minute?" Apparently, Tony hadn't taken the hint to leave earlier, so the Doctor politely asked him then. Still reluctant to leave Kate, Tony slowly stood, and planted a soft kiss on her forehead before exiting her room.

_Fine, she's going to be fine._ She said it herself. Tony breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned against the wall for support. Kate's words played like a chorus inside his head. _"Fine, actually. Tired, but fine."_

"Mr. Todd?" Tony turned at the sound if Dr. Harold's voice, but didn't bother to correct the man. In fact, the thought made him smile. "I have given Kate strict instructions to stay off her feet for a full forty-eight hours. After that time, she can go from bed to the bathroom, and back again. After a week, if she feels up to it, she can move around your house, but I would not suggest an outing for at least two. As far as the incision, keep it clean and dry, and change the bandage once a day. Other than that Mr. Todd, as soon as the nurse comes in, you're free to go." With a smile and a handshake, the Doctor was gone.


	3. No Food

"So," Tony announced his re-entry into Kate's hospital room. "What do you say we ditch this joint?" He could tell the anesthetic hadn't completely worn out because her eyes were already drooping.

"Yeah. I don't suppose you know where my clothes ended up?" She attempted a smile, but was too exhausted, and failed miserably.

Tony turned his head and began scanning the small room for any sign of her clothes. Finally, he spotted them in a white, see-through bag at the foot of her bed. After grabbing the bag, he pulled out the black dress pants she had been wearing that morning, along with her sweater and boots.

"Help me Tony." He was going to make a wisecrack about her in a backless hospital gown, but when he heard her plea, he immediately sobered.

"Sure Kate." Without a word about her hot pink bra, or the kind of underwear she was wearing, he slid her pants on, and then helped her with her sweater. "I'll be right back Katie." Although she always yelled at him when he called her 'Katie,' she was too tired to care, and if the truth came out, she actually liked it.

After securing a wheelchair, Tony helped her into his car, and they were on their way.

* * *

"Tony?" Kate had slept the entire drive to her house.

"Ssh." Gently, Tony laid her on her bed and covered her with a quilt. "Go back to sleep."

He barely managed to close her door before his cell phone went off. Instantly, his hand went to his hip to shut the ringer off.

"Yeah."

"Tony?" He had never heard her sound so insecure.

"She's fine Abbs." He couldn't help but smile at his words. _'She's going to be fine.'_

"Ducky said she collapsed."

"Yeah, she did."

"Oh God."

"Abbs, she's okay. We're at her place. Come see for yourself." He heard her sniff.

"Okay." With a click, she hung up, and he pocketed his phone.

It was then he noticed the state of Kate's apartment. Judging by the throw pillows and blanket on the floor, the dishes in the sink, and the overflowing hamper, she hadn't been feeling well for several days. Picking up the pillows, he arranged them neatly on the couch. He then proceeded to the kitchen, and that's where Abby found him fifteen minutes later.

* * *

"What does she eat?" Tony greeted Abby.

"Huh?" That came out of nowhere.

"Kate has no food." Abby smiled.

"What do you expect Tony? We're at work 23.5 hours a day."

Tony stopped cleaning and looked at her.

"She's asleep. Will be for a while."

"That's a good thing. Hey, why don't you go home? I'll stay with her tonight." Abby knew how the couple cared for each other, although they themselves didn't. She also knew today had taken a toll on him.

Tony shook his head

"No. She can't get up by herself. I'm going to go home, grab some clothes, and run by the store. I'll be back in an hour. Don't let her get up."

"Don't worry Tony." Abby stood up on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

* * *

An hour later, as promised, Tony returned with a large duffel bag, and several bags of food.

"She wake up?" Tony sat his many bags on the counter.

"Nope." Abby followed him into the kitchen and began unloading the groceries. "Jeez Tony. You buy out the store?"

"Well I had to buy healthy food for Kate, and I'm not going to eat that crap. So I bought me food too."

"Right. Oh! By the way, Gibbs called. He said unless there's a new case, you can stay with Kate. Well technically Tim said it, but Gibbs said it first. He also said Gibbs actually seemed worried about Kate."

"That's 'cause Kate's his favorite."

* * *

I'm extremely sorry for the lack of updates. Thanks for all the great reviews. Here's the next installment, I won't make any promises, but I'm going to try and finish the story soon. Maybe 2 more chapters tops, and TATE will definately be there! 


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